WHEN THERE IS NO MOON
Prompt: A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words Summer contest (500)
Date: July 2022
"We should get out of here."
I look up at you, taking in the crease in your brow, the distant look in your eyes.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
Your gaze focuses on me.
"Let's do something crazy."
Your words spark an immediate thrill through me.
"What kind of crazy?"
You reach up, tugging a hand through your hair.
"I don't know. But we should go do something."
You're antsy. I am too. Graduation has come and gone and we are facing a summer of change.
But I don't want things to change, and I don't think you do either.
"Okay," I agree. "Let's go somewhere."
You lean over, your lips capturing mine. Your kiss leaves me breathless, it always has.
…
"I want to see the ocean."
I glance at you in the passenger's seat.
"The Pacific Ocean?" I ask. You look at me.
"Yeah."
I can imagine you frolicking through salty waves, sea foam chasing you up a smooth shore.
I want to see how the golden sand lights you up.
"The ocean it is."
…
Your smile glows in the California sunshine.
The windows are rolled down, your long hair catching the rays.
I haven't seen you this free in so long.
I fall in love with you all over again.
…
"There it is," I gasp, the moment we get our first look at the ocean.
It's magnificent; large and shining in the late afternoon sun.
Once I park, you are out like a shot, running into the sand.
I laugh, climb out of the car, and race after you.
…
The water is colder than I expected. Based on your scream of surprise, it's colder than you thought it would be too.
It doesn't slow us down.
We splash in the white foam, invigorated by the cold and the thrill of our adventure.
I want to spend the rest of my life, just like this, with you.
…
Your fingers thread through mine, our knees knocking together as we sit in the sand and watch the sun drift lower over the water.
I wanted today to last forever, and it's breaking my heart that it's not.
"This day was perfect."
Your voice is a whisper, and I can't look at your face because I'm worried I'll start crying.
"I don't want it to end."
Your fingers squeeze mine.
"The nighttime isn't so bad," you say. "That's when the moon comes out."
I swallow.
"Not always."
You kiss my shoulder.
"It will for us."
I turn and look at you, and my breath catches in my throat. You are so beautiful and I love you so completely.
What if life is never this moment again?
"Can we come back here? When there is no moon?"
Your head tilts toward mine, and I feel like our heartbeats are syncing up.
"Back to our beach?"
I lean in, kissing you with all that I am. When we break apart, you smile, your head still against mine.
"Always."
